What do you do for batt maint?

[emmado22]

All,

What do you do for battery maintaince when you dont run the truck on a regular basis???

Check the water level?
Got a Solargizer on it?
Got the MIL SPEC battery terminals on the cables?
Do you put grease on the terminals?
Charge the batts every so often?

All of the above? None? Some? or something not listed?

 

[FMJ]

I try to run them a few times a week, but other than that its a trickle charger overnight.

 

[devilman96]

Acid is far better than water...

Solargizer is the best thing you can do for a battery...

I dont think the mil spec terminals are the greatest thing, im using soldered terminals, less resistance.

I have gel cells so I dont worry about grease but you really should use a battery terminal coating of some kind.

If I dont drive it for a while I will throw a charger on it about once a month but this is usually more due to having to crank it and move it around the shop often... They have never been dead but a low amp charge now and again is never a bad thing.

 

[ygmir]

I take em out of all my vehicles (13) unless they're daily/weekly drivers.
I keep them mostly on solargizers, once in a while put the charger on overnight.......I keep 8 batteries this way, two gel cell. Check the electrolyte levels once in a while, and, add as needed.
I wish there was a quich coupler, that wasn't 50 bucks pre vehicle.....
I use the regular terminals and small C clamps......

 

[emmado22]

You need a RediPluse 12..............

http://pulsetech.net/productinfo/productinfo.html

Look for them on Ebay...

 

[Armada]

With the 6TL's I would try to run the vehicle at least once a month, especially in the winter, say maybe 30-45 minutes just to keep the oil splashed around inside the motor and to keep the batts fresh. In the fall of each year I pull the batts out and top off the fluid with fresh acid and clean and grease the posts and mil-spec connections. I've never had an issue.
Now with the Hawkers, I guess I just need to keep connections clean and run the truck once in a while when it sets for long periods of time.

 

[Rattlehead]

I use mil spec battery terminals and an aerosol type battery terminal protectant. Both trucks are kept plugged in at all times, extension cords running down the side of the driveway. The deuce camper has two Xantrex solar charge controllers and power supplies feeding each one. These are 3 stage chargers. One keeps the 24v truck batteries maintained and the other keeps the 12v batteries in the camper up to par. I use these as I plan to add a solar panel someday. The truck batteries are military, and are checked/topped off periodically.

The 5 ton has a Chargetek CT500 on it, also a 3 stage charger, which keeps each 12v battery charged separately. These are aftermarket "sealed" batteries.

I try to use the trucks now and then, but if its really cold and the roads are salty, I think it may be better to not do anything with them, wait for a warmer day. When I do start one, I try to actually go somewhere with it so it gets fully warmed up and put under a load, vs idling around the driveway.

 

[emr]

My 2 cents, Start her monthly and give her a short run the tires need exorcise too!We all or most...allready have older tires and they will crack on the bottom if radial and the NDT's will spider all over, keep em out of the sun too. Any vehicle not used for 4 days should have a charger/maintainer preferably a desulphation one, Temp is as bad as anything else to a bat. A bat's life is shortenend when not kept fully charged ALL of the time, there are alot of terminal things the little pads and such I usually use different ones at different times, but also take the time to clean the bat's and terminals 2 times a year, a dirty bat will rob it of juice faster also...Randy

 

[Offroadfabworks]

Were do you guys get these solargizers at?

 

[cranetruck]

Google it, lots of hits and info.....check out "Batterystuff.com" also.

 

[ida34]

I just cleaned and used terminal sealer on my cables today.

 

[Cdub]

Two Solargizers, one for each pair for the four batteries.....

Cheers,

C'dub

 

[cranetruck]

Looks like you guys have it under control, don't forget to make sure the hold-down brackets are good and tight, mechanical damage from shaking and bouncing around must be prevented too.